If This Be My Destiny
by fivefootthreeinches
Summary: Civil War AU. Peter Parker had his own reasons for joining Stark's side. But a conversation with Cap makes him begin to double check his ideals. Now, he forges on to figure out what kind of hero he truly wants to be; whether to follow the seemingly straight & narrow path of order and accountability led by Iron Man or the brave, yet questionable defiant path of freedom of Cap
1. The Talk

No, You Move

Peter shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, feeling his nerves get the better of him. Normally, when in costume he became much more confident that he normally was, and could become a cocky little asshole (Stark's words), fully capable of aggravating even the most stoic of personalities.

But normally he never came face to face with Captain America.

He'd been dealing with a seemingly isolated mugging which turned out to be gang related violence, and wound up having to face about 15 to 20 armed gangbangers (they hadn't even laughed at his admittedly inappropriate Joke about it, rude) when seemingly out of the blue a strikingly familiar shield flies in and ricocheted off 3 different crooks' heads and returned to the imposing figure of Captain America himself, laws of physics be damned. Of course, being the consummate professional he is (not really) he didn't look a gift horse in the mouth and quickly got to work with the captain and together they took all of 2 minutes to knock out the crew, tie them up and contact the authorities on their whereabouts. Afterwards, he turned towards the rest of the hero(?) and noticed that their eyes were on him.

He cleared his throat in an attempt to fill the increasingly awkward silence. "Soooooo," he began, drawing out the word "Uh, good job there with the whole-," he mimicked Captain America's throwing of the shield with an unnecessary _whoosh_ noise. "-thing back there. Good stuff." thumbs up "Real effective".

 _Smooth, Parker. Real smooth._

Captain America shrugged in response. "You too, son." He complimented."Those webs of yours are really something." His lip quirked in amusement, "Real effective."

Peter gave a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of his head ( _nervous gesture,_ Cap noted). "Yeah, well...thanks"

Peter felt an acute sense of relief at being spared from further embarrassing himself when he heard footsteps approach then, only to flounder when he laid eyes on one of the prettiest girls he'd ever seen.

"Cap," she began in an Eastern European accent. "Police ETA is 5 minutes, we need to get out of here asap."

"Roger that, Wanda."

Before he could stop himself, Peter snickered at his unintentional pun. "Heh, _Roger"_

Wanda immediately turned around to face him, perfect eyebrow raised at him. "Is this the infamous Spider-Man who's been all over the internet?"

"That would be him." Steve responded with a smile directed at him. Wanda stepped forward and extended her hand towards him in an offer to shake it. "Wanda." She said.

Peter felt his heart skip a beat. "Spider-Man." he responded with faux confidence, before worriedly back tracking. "I mean _I'm_ Spider-man, not you. But of course you knew that because you called me Spider-Man, not you. Because you aren't Spider-Man..Not that you couldn't be! It's just that I am, and your not. Spider-Man, that is..."

The two heroes simply looked a him. He felt his face burn up in embarrassment as looked back at them, willing his brain to come up with anything even remotely clever to say.

"Ack."

His brain was the worst

After a couple of beats of silence, Cap spoke up. "Anyways, Wanda's right. We really should be heading out now. Nice meeting you Spider-Man."

Peter, relieved at the ending of his embarrassing moment, smiled behind his mask. "Nice meeting you too."

Cap smiled at him, then turned to Wanda. "We good to go?" She nodded in affirmation. "All set Cap. Sam said he and the others will be at the rendezvous point in half an hour tops. So no rush getting there, just as long as we're not seen by the police we should be alright."

Cap nods at this. "Good to know." He then turns to Spider-Man. "Come with me, son. I'd like to have a word with you if you don't mind."

Even though his 'spider-sense' wasn't tingling, red flags were immediately raised in Peter's mind at this and he stiffened slightly. Sure, they may have just fought together, and he was the freaking _Captain_ _America,_ but he was still highly paranoid about his secret identity. After all, who knows what he would do if he found out some 16 year old was the man (boy) behind the mask, the infamous vigilante who'd divided opinions since he first came to public infamy over ten months ago. Cap seemed to notice his apprehension and immediately raised his hands in a show of no hostility.

"Don't worry, son. You're not in any trouble, I just wanted to get to know you a bit before we go. I promise, no funny business. You don't have to if you don't want to."

Peter quirked his brow beneath his mask and folded his arms. "No funny business?"

Steve gave him a winning smile. "I promise you'll be the funniest part of the conversation."

Peter smiled at that. "...Okay Cap. Lead the way."

* * *

The three of them had come to a stop on an abandoned warehouse near the city outskirts. Wanda was talking to someone on her comm, and as such had left the two males alone to have their 'talk'. Peter, not sure what to do with his arms, swung them around for a bit before eventually putting them behind his back after noticing Cap fold his arms and watch him with an amused expression. Despite being the one to ask Peter to talk, he seemed content with silently watching him. After a while, Peter became uncomfortable with just standing there when he could be out helping civilians, New York at night was quite dangerous after all.

"Look Cap, not that this isn't a stimulating experience and all, but is there a reason you called me here? Cause I kinda have places to be."

Steve looked at him for a beat before giving a small smile. "Ah yes, I suppose you would. After all, you're not like us Avengers, you have a separate life from the costume."

"Yeah, something like that." Peter then tried to get to the point.

"Well, I don't blame you. You're Aunt May doesn't seem like someone to cross"

Peter snorts, "You're telling me, you should have seen her last week when I came home smelling like a dumpster after..." Peter trailed off as his mind finally caught up with Captain America's words.

Cap frowned, brows furrowed in concern. "Peter? You okay there, son?"

"...You called me Peter."

Cap nodded, his eyes full of understanding. "It's your name, after all." He continued, noticing Peter's unwillingness to talk. "SHIELD tends to keep track of any potential threats where they can. So if they find out some costumed individual with obviously enhanced abilities gaining notoriety, you can bet they'll find out everything they can about you." Peter felt like there was an intense ringing in his ears at Cap's words, simultaneously feeling the need to flee as far and as fast as possible and stay to find out what exactly they knew (although they already knew his name, so it's safe to assume they know enough to have him by the balls).

All of a sudden, he was regretting agreeing to this talk

"Peter Parker, son of Richard Parker and Mary Fitzpatrick-Parker. 16 years old. IQ above the 99.9999999922nd percentile. Midtown Science High School honors student." Cap listed off. "Loves gummy worms and lasagna, hates his Aunt's walnut date loaf." He added that last part with a chuckle.

Peter blanched, knowing that even if he did run they'd easily find him. "So you know who I am, Cap."

"Call me Steve." He said with a warm smile.

"Okay then, 'Steve'. You know who I am, where I live...what do you want from me? Is this some kind of blackmail government thing?"

Cap (Steve, he said to call him) gave him a smile and took of his cowl. "Nothing of the sort. I was just wondering why a kid like you who's so intent on keeping a low profile decided to get involved in an Avengers dispute." He then frowned. "What did Stark say to convince you? No offense, but this isn't your problem son."

Peter sighed, taking his mask off (hey they already know who he is, and he was sweating. It was summer after all) and running a hand through his hair. "He didn't."

Steve's brows pinched in confusion. "He didn't?"

"Nothing he was saying was actually convincing."

"Then why?"

"Because.."

"Because what?"

"Because I'll be the next target after the Avengers." Peter answered, feeling the stress of the past few weeks catching up to him with him finally having someone to confide in. Stark wasn't exactly the type one could easily open up to after all, preferring to offer directions from an emotional distance. "Look, I may be a kid but I'm not stupid. You know my IQ scores. First they target you guys. You're the Avengers, Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Government sanctioned practically. You're the figureheads of the hero community. If they get you guys sign, then anyone else like me with 'powers' or whatever you wanna call them will eventually be targeted."

Steve maintained an unreadable expression, but inwardly was angry at how distressed and exhausted Peter sounded. Clearly this was something that was bothering him greatly. Poor kid, no teenager should have to worry about things like that. His biggest worry should be about college.

"You've definitely seen how the public treat me, I'm not very popular with the police either. So I figured that, working with someone like Stark who had the backing of the world governments would get me a bit of goodwill in the long run. And maybe, I'd be able to cut a deal where I can keep my identity private. I asked Stark, he said he could negotiate something like that."

Peter sat down, rubbing his face tiredly with his glove hands. "Look Cap-er, Steve, I'm sorry about the airport thing. It's nothing personal, but I have important people I need to look after. My Aunt, my decathlon team...if the government comes for me I wanna be able to keep them away from the crossfire of my problems. I don't want the government to use them as leverage to get me to forcibly do what they want. If I get Avenger backing in the form of Tony Stark himself, that could go a long way in preventing that. I hope you can understand that."

Steve gave him an assuring smile. "I understand, son. Believe me, I do. I don't hold that against you, doing what you can to protect the people in your life is an honorable thing to do. It's something I myself always try to do. In fact, that's exactly why I chose to go against the accords in the first place."

Peter raised his eyebrow in a questioning manner. Steve just smiled and sat next to him. "I suppose since you told me why you went with Stark, I can tell you why I didn't. After you decrypted the leaked SHIELD files about Project Insight-yes Peter, SHILED knew about that as well-I'm sure you read all about HYDRA's infiltration. They very nearly had control over not only weapons that could calculate but also eliminate any perceived threats to them, but also have control over the Avengers. That's something that could very easily happen again, I'm not too keen on taking that chance."

"But wasn't HYDRA completely crushed by you guys after that?"

A dark shadow passed over Steve's face. "I asked myself a similar question after I found them in SHIELD. Cut one head, two grow back. That's HYDRA for you."

Peter was quiet, having not considered the possibility HYDRA could still be around. Steve just sighed. "Even if they somehow are completely gone. Who's to say that's the only threat of that nature the government could face. What about corrupt members of the very same Accords committee? General Thaddeus Rossi? Yeah, he's been trying to recreate the Super Soldier Serum for years. I know for a fact he'd try to use me to fully realize his dream of an army of super soldiers. Why would we need such an army if the Avengers already exist?"

Peter looked sick to his stomach, seemingly not having considered the possibilities Steve had presented. Steve felt guilty at this. He really didn't want to give the kid anymore to worry about, but he did want him to consider his decision with more insight available to him. He turned to face him directly, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Son, you're a good kid. Your heart's obviously in the right place, and you've got a good head on your shoulders. I know what it's like to want to help the little guy. I wish I was able to stick around, I don't like seeing you so stressed out, and I can imagine things aren't gonna get easier after this."

Peter kept his head down, taking a minute to take in everything "You know," he eventually began as a response, "When I first got these powers all I could think about was me and my benefits. I mean, I've never been popular, I'm not good looking, I'm not rich or anything. So all I could think about was that my powers was the universe's way of giving me retribution. My uncle-" His voice cracked here, "my uncle had this saying, 'with great power comes great responsibility'. He believed if someone needed help, if you had the ability to help them then you should."

Steve smiled and squeezed his shoulder. "He sounds like a wise man."

Peter gave a watery smile. "The greatest man I knew. Anyway, there's this guy at my school. Flash Thompson. Always gave me grief, always making fun of me, embarrassed me in front of everyone on a near daily basis. After I got the powers, he comes around to mess with me, so I retaliate. At this point, I didn't have a proper grasp on my power so I ended up breaking his arm. His father makes my uncle pay for for his hospital bill, and like I said, we were never wealthy. I remember my uncle telling me off about it. He said he wasn't angry about the bills even though he couldn't afford them and they'd cause him alot of stress, he was angry that I retaliated. I snapped, I asked him if it's fair to take his crap. He said that's no excuse to hurt someone. He gave me the 'great power, great responsibility' speech. I was too angry to care and I stormed off. I did feel bad about the bills, so I decided to look for a way to get some cash. I found an add in the paper about lasting 3 minutes with some underground fighter for $3000 that evening. I knew I could do it, so I went. Naturally, I succeeded, but the guy in charge tells me I'm only getting $300. There was no contract so I couldn't force him to pay up, he just said 'It's not my problem'. Later when I'm leaving, some crook steals from the guy. I could have easily stopped him, he ran right next to me but I was still bitter at being scammed so I let him go. He even tossed me a couple of stacks in gratitude. The promoter runs up to me, fuming, asking why I didn't stop him. I threw his words in his face. _'It's not my problem'."_ Peter mimicked the promoter bitterly.

"As I go home with the money, ready to apologize to my uncle I see police at the house. They tell me what they told my aunt, my uncle was shot and killed by some crook trying to take his car. Turns out that he'd driven to the library looking for me since I'd turned my phone off and I usually go there. I was pissed, as soon as they left I went out looking for him. I hacked to police scanners and found out they tracked the car to an abandoned warehouse. I arrived before the cops did, ready to exact vengeance when I see the face of the crook." He he laughed bitterly, a sound that was such a far cry from what he'd displayed up to that point that Steve jumped slightly. "Turns out it was the guy who robbed the promoter. Because of my selfishness, my stupidity and my self serving mentality the man who'd raised me like his own son was killed in cold blood." His voice was full of self loathing and guilt. "Ever since then, everything I've done as Spider-Man, I did to protect people. Living with great responsibility. I thought if I went with Stark I was doing the right thing, now I'm not so sure anymore."

Peter looked Steve directly in his eye. "How do you do it? The world leaders are against you, you're a fugitive. Half of your former team's trying to arrest you...How do you keep it together, even when you could possibly be wrong?"

Steve gave him a serious look. "Because son, like your uncle I too believe in using your power for good. I know my view isn't perfect, I know I may be wrong. But I also know I may be right. My job is, and always has been, to help people whenever I can. I don't think I could stand by and let the government dictate when and how I should do that. This job, it's not easy...it's never easy. But it's necessary. That's what this uniform means to me. That's why I can ignore what the media says about me like you do. Because as long as there's innocent people who need help, I'll do everything in my power to help then. Even if they paint me a villain, even if they throw me in jail, brand me a traitor or have my friends turn against me. I'll never stop helping people until my heart stops beating, because the wellbeing of others comes before my personal comfort."

Peter's eyes widened at Cap's words, knowing that he wasn't just seeing Steve here. He was seeing _the_ Captain America who'd been immortalized in history as America's greatest hero, and a true leader. Cap looked at him and his features softened. "You and I are quite similar y'know. We're cut from the same cloth. Because I know, when push comes to shove, you'll always put others before yourself. Tony and I, we both want what's best for everyone. But unfortunately things got further out of hand than either of us wanted. But you, you're still young. Maybe you can succeed where we failed." He stood up, offering Peter a hand up as well. "I've gotta go now, as you're no doubt aware, we're not exactly welcome on American soil." He gave a smirk at this.

Peter's brow furrowed. "But where you gonna go? I'm not sure any country would willingly house a fugitive like you, no offense."

"None taken. Although where I'm going is classified." Wanda, initially willing to stand at the side to give them space to talk, approached them knowing their time had run out. "Sorry to cut the heart to heart short, but we've gotta run. Sam says everyone is ready and waiting for us " She turned to Peter and smiled. "You're alot cuter without the mask"

Peter blushed different shades of red and rubbed the back of his head again "T-thanks I guess."

She turned on her heel and leapt off the roof, using what Peter assumed was some form of telekinesis to help her levitate safely onto the ground. Steve then ran to the edge of the roof, but before jumping off, turned to Peter. He tossed him an old looking phone. "Listen, if you ever need advice on anything, or just wanna talk, call me. I'm here for you, Peter." He smiled at him. "Stay safe son."

Peter smiled back at him, "You too Cap."

Steve gave him a salute and jumped off the roof. Peter remained where he was, taking in the last twenty odd minutes or so. Eventually, he smiled to himself. Cap was right, this hero business was difficult. But, he thought to himself as he put on his mask, at least he didn't have to face it alone. He made a running jump off the roof and shot a web onto the nearest building, shooting off into the city.

* * *

 **A/N: Just something I wrote in the middle of my lecture. Not sure if I should leave it as a one-shot or expand it later on.**


	2. Important Question

**A/N: Yeah yeah I know, not an actual chapter...sorry for unintentional misleadings. But I have a question...When I posted this story, I considered it a one shot although I considered the possibility of expanding om it. Upon revisiting it, I've been considering continuing it, but I'm still trying to figure out the angle. I don't wanna just post a chapter, then spend ages wondering where the story is headed.**

 **So far I've been considering writing an alternate take on Homecoming, with the effects of the Accords as well as the Avengers battle having more consequences. It's a ideological story where, Peter's main conflict is figuring out what kind of hero he should be like between Captain America and Iron Man. Initially he'd put the Avengers, primarily those two on a pedestal but after the airport battle he's sort of disillusioned by them so he's a bit lost and conflicted. Besides ideological conflicts, the two also represent different facets of himself that they appeal to (Captain America as a moral paradigm and inspiring figure, and Iron Man as a successful scientist who uses his intelligence for mankind's betterment). There's also more familiar faces from the comics as well as the Homecoming cast.**

 **So, here's the question. Would anyone be interested in seeing this story playing out? And if so, is there anything you'd like to see going forward.**

 **Please let me know if you want this, not gonna post something no one is interested in. I'd rather focus on my other ongoing work instead.**


	3. A Day In The Life

"So tell me Peter, how'd it feel meeting _the_ Tony Stark?"

Peter sighed at the question. He'd hoped to put aside the uncomfortable memory of seeing his childhood heroes fighting each other (one side with his help) from his brain for the foreseeable future, but he'd known that the girl next to him would be too excited at what she assumed happened over the weekend to notice his slightly sullen mood. Well, too excited to notice it immediately.

"That's what I'd like to know, Gwen."

The girl in question frowned at this, "Didn't you meet him on Saturday for that internship? You know, the one Ms Hernandez wouldn't shut up all week about all week?" She added the last part with a smile.

Peter blushed at the memory of his favorite teacher gushing about his academic achievement, but quickly became morose at the reminder of it being fake.

She frowned at her friend's somber expression. "Hey, you okay?"

Peter blew air out of his mouth and leaned against his locker, turning his head to face his friend. "I blew it Gwen, I was late for the interview. I'm not gonna intern at Stark Industries."

"Of all the times to be late! Dammit Pete!"

"I know, I know."

Gwen sighed. Deciding to take a different approach. "I just don't understand Peter. What's with you? You're almost always late for important stuff, sometimes you outright blow things off, and you're always secretive about why. You know you trust me with anything, right? I'm your friend, Pete. You can talk to me about stuff."

Peter felt guilty at her words. "I know I can trust you Gwen, you're one of my closest friends."

"So tell me then," Gwen moved to put her hand on Peter's shoulder. "What's going on with you?"

Peter, not for the first time, felt torn between opening up to his close friend and maintaining his hard fought secret. Like he said, he did trust Gwen, but he also knew the value of keeping a secret, especially one of the magnitude of his. The less people knew his dual identity, the better. It's safer if you don't know, Gwen. He just wished his secret didn't put such a strain on his personal life. So instead of opening up, like he'd love to, he just brushed it off.

"It's no biggie, Gwen. Really, don't worry about it."

Gwen frowned at this. "I care about you, Peter. I'm always gonna worry about the stuff that bothers you."

Simultaneous feelings of warmth at his friend's concern and guilt at being the instigator of said concern welled up in the young genius' mind. He shrugged his shoulders, trying to casually play it off.

Realizing she wasn't going to get any answers, Gwen gave him a sad look. However, she didn't pursue his previous line of questioning. Instead, she changed topics. "Anyways, don't forget about the practice for the state decathlon. You already missed the last two meetings and Michelle's pissed off at you about it."

Peter internally groaned. He forgot about that afternoon's meeting, and as much as he wanted to be there (the decathlon would be a great look on his college applications, plus all his friends were there and he didn't want to let them down), he needed to go out on patrol later today. He'd hacked the local police scanner frequency, and discovered there was a stakeout taking place for suspected kidnappers who'd been taking young children under the age of 13 and he wanted to make sure everything went smoothly.

Gwen, noticing her friend's uneasy expression, simply shook her head, a look of disappointment crossing her features. "At least remember we're supposed to meet to plan for Ned's surprise birthday party this Friday."

Peter enthusiastically nodded at this. "I'll definitely be there."

Gwen smiled. "I hope so. Also, we're still on for study later tonight right?" He stared at her in curiosity.

Gwen frowned. "You _did_ remember about our plans, right Peter?"

Peter did his best to avoid looking guilty. "O-Of course! Haha, just slipped my mind for a bit there. But I totally remember. You and me. Studying. Together. Tonight. Yep."

Peter resisted the urge to slam his head on his locker as Gwen looked hurt at him forgetting about their plans. Next to Ned, she was his closest friend and ever since he started moonlighting as a vigilante he'd not spent as much time with her as he used to. He didn't want her to think he was blowing her off because he didn't care, but he was running out of excuses (not that they were ever good excuses) for constantly being unavailable to hang out. He mentally cursed his double life for the umpteenth time. He hoped the 'nerd herd' (clever nickname for the science club coined by some football players, note the sarcasm) wouldn't be too upset at his assumed flaking, but he wasn't going to hold his breath. He'd missed some important meetings with them by using the excuse of preparations for his Stark Industries interview but Stark had told him it would be suspicious if almost immediately after he's seen with Spider-Man he hires a high school student (something that had never happened in the company's history before especially with Tony who was notorious for not having any personal interns) and because he was a minor, Stark was trying to avoid him having to sign the Accords until he turned 18. Plus, as Gwen said, he'd missed a couple of meetings for their team. He groaned at the thought of dealing with an irate Michelle. This was definitely not his week. He stayed in his awkward position with his head resting on his locker, ignoring the occasional bump he got from a passing student, wondering why his life had to be so complicated.

 _I bet Tony Stark never has to go through the crap I do._

 _Then again, Stark is a 'genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist' as he so eloquently puts it. He probably just pays people to deal with his personal problems if he has any._

"Yo Parker!"

As if his day wasn't bad enough.

He remained in his slumped position, not moving an inch. He'd read somewhere that certain predators ignored potential prey that was stationery. It shouldn't work on a normal human, but Flash Thompson's IQ shouldn't be high enough to register this.

"Parker!"

"Just ignore him Peter. He's not worth it." Gwen muttered to him.

 _Please just leave me alone. Just for today._

But of course, the universe cared not for his wishes as his spider-sense started tingling mildly and he soon after felt a large hand come down hard on his shoulder. He didn't need to look up to confirm who it was, knowing the voice of his tormentor like the back of his hand. From the corner of his eyes he could see a few of Flash's pals; Randy Robertson, Kenneth 'Kenny' Kong & Tiny McKeever. Of all the football players, Randy was probably the easiest to get along with. By nature he was easy going, and though he was usually with the crowd that gave Peter hell, he never participated and would occasionally talk to him like a normal person. Kong, on the other hand was Flash Thompson's even dumber right hand man. On his own he wasn't so bad to deal with, but pair him with Flash and they were an unbearable duo to deal with. Tiny (ironically named as such seeing as he was 5'11 despite only being fifteen) was just a less obnoxious Flash, although that wasn't exactly a difficult standard to beat.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Midtown High's only professional wallflower!" Ah, there it is. Flash's idiotic nickname for Peter. "Word on the street is you fucked up your interview. Ha! How the hell d'you screw that up?"

How the hell did he know about that?

"Dammit Parker, you've gotta be a special kind of worthless to screw up the only thing you're good for. Wonder how dear Aunt May took it? Can't wait to see you get laid into today. I got sick of hearing all about how 'it's so amazing what Peter is doing' blah blah blah. Nice to see ya get knocked down a peg."

Peter's ears burned red as Flash and his lackeys guffawed at his taunts. Even though he was Spider-Man, he vowed to never misuse his powers to unnecessary hurt people. So even if he wished could knock Flash off his pedestal, but he was just Peter Parker here. Not anyone special. So he just endured the taunts until Flash got bored with him and moved on.

"Just leave him alone Flash. God, do you have to be so obnoxious."

"Your words don't bother me cause I don't know what they mean." Peter resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "What's the matter Parker, nothing to say? Gonna let your girlfriend defend you!" Flash put his arm around his neck in a faux friendly move, ignoring the undignified ' _I'm not his girlfriend!_ ' that came from Gwen. "I'm sure you must have another one of your great excuses for this one. What is it this time? Gotta fix those computers at the Bugle? Study for one of those tests you missed?"

"Heh, leave him alone Flash, you're gonna make him cry." Kong sain in between snorts. He couldn't even say he was looking forward to the reprieve class would normally provide as his first period was AP Chemistry with Ms Hernandez. No way she was gonna be happy with him like she normally was. Peter's day was just a downhill spiral at this point.

He heard the sound of heels and giggling, and turned his head to see three of the cheerleaders looking their way. There was Sally Avril, the pretty but highly stuck up blond who for some reason hated Peter with a passion. Liz Allan, the hispanic beauty Peter had known since kindergarten, and would always give Peter amused smirks every now and then that implied she knew something about him he didn't. And then in the middle, was MJ

Mary Jane Watson, aka the love of Peter's life (that might be a little dramatic, but whatever). The beautiful redhead who lived next door to Peter. She was as popular as she was beautiful, and unlike the others in that clique she was actually nice to everyone she encountered in the school.

Peter had been introduced to her when she just moved to their neighborhood a couple of years prior, her aunt and his being best friends, and he had been smitten ever since.

"So after all that hype you didn't get into Stark Industries? Guess brainy Parker isn't so brainy." Ah Sally. Good old horrible Sally.

Flash snorted. "Total loser."

"Knock it off, Flash." Peter blinked stupidly at the angelic voice of Mary Jane speaking in his defense. "So Peter didn't get the job, big deal. Don't need to rub it in. At least he's actually good enough to be considered."

 _Not really_ , Peter thought sadly. _It was just a cover for Spider-Man. I'm not nearly smart enough for Stark Industries_.

Flash seemed unimpressed with Mary Jane, but let Peter go to his relief. "Whatever Red." He rolled his eyes. "We gotta go for class anyways. One more late slip and we get detention. Coach will kill us if we miss practice."

Flash and his goons bounded off, laughing at something Flash said. Sally eyed Peter with an unimpressed look, then flipped her hair at him and called a 'later girl's to Liz and MJ.

MJ looked at him with concern. "You okay there, Tiger?"

Peter gave her a fake grin. "Sticks and stones, MJ. I'm ok."

Liz snorted. "Of course you're OK, you've got your defense squad with you." She grinned as both Peter and Gwen blushed, while MJ rolled her eyes. "Anyways," she drew out the word. "I gotta get to class too. See you at lunch MJ."

"Later Liz." MJ returned. Liz then waved at Gwen and gave Peter a knowing grin. "Have fun, _Petey_." Peter felt like he was missing something, but chose to ignore it and gave her a lazy wave. MJ then gave him he full attention.

"You sure you're OK?"

"Don't worry MJ. I'm good."

"If you say so." She seemed unconvinced but let it go. "Guess I'll see you around then, Tiger." She gave him a wink then sauntered off while Peter blushed and watched her retreating form longingly. He was so enchanted he even missed the look of jealousy and sadness that briefly crossed Gwen's features. "Hey Peter."

"Yeah?" He responded half-heartedly, still watching MJ.

"I think we should probably get to class too before we're late." Peter blinked as if just realizing the time. "Right."

The two then walked off to their AP Chemistry class, their minds on their respective object of admiration.

* * *

"May, I'm home!"

Peter walked into the small Queens apartment to the smell of homemade pizza in the oven. He smiled at this, May was making his favorite food for dinner. He shrugged off his backpack and walked into the kitchen where May was holding an oven pan filled with a scrumptious smelling homemade cheese pizzeria. She looked up and grinned at him.

"Heya kid. Didn't hear you coming in."

"Hi May."

"So, how was school today?"

Peter shrugged lazily. "Ok I guess, nothing special."

She eyed him suspiciously. "No one gave you any grief about you missing out on the grant?"

Peter leaned on the counter, trying his best to appear nonchalant. "Nothing I couldn't handle. Don't worry bout it."

She sighed. "If you say so. Set the table, would ya?"

Peter acquiesced and went to get the plates, trying not to feel guilty. He and May weren't that close compared to him and Ben. She was his relative only by marriage. Considering she and Ben, his dad's younger brother, got married only a couple of years ago they didn't have much time to bond between her busy job as a nurse and his various academics. However, since Ben's death she had been trying to simultaneously fill Ben's place in his life and form a new bond with him of their own. Unfortunately, Peter still found it difficult to talk with her beyond easy, shallow small talk and witty banter because he still felt immense guilt whenever he looked at her. There she was, a budding young doctor married to a young electrical engineer. They were building careers, getting ready to move out of their overpriced Queens apartment and get their own house in the suburbs an eventually have kids of their own. Only for Ben's orphaned nephew to move into their apartment and throw off their plans and interrupt their newlywed bliss. Then, said nephew's stupid selfishness goes and gets her husband killed (not that she knew that) and not only does she lose the love of her life, but she has to drop out of medical school and lose her dream career to become a nurse just to take care of him. He basically ruined her life, and here she was trying to reach out to him to make sure he was okay.

It made him sick.

Dinner was nice and simple, filled with small talk about school and work respectively. Peter helped her with the dishes, and they settled down to watch some dumb comedy on cable. Eventually, he decided to call it a night. He bidded May goodnight, and turned to go upstairs. However, just before he walked away, May called out to him.

"Listen Peter," She began, fidgeting a little. "I know the past six months haven't been the easiest for you. Ever since Ben-" she paused at his wince, but after a beat soldiered on. "Ever since, things have been difficult. I know. And I know I can never replace what you and Ben have. Had." She corrected herself with a sad smile. "But I do care about you Peter, alot. If you ever need anything, just know I'm always here for you. You don't need to go through this alone."

May, like Pete felt he own brand of guilt that manifested whenever she looked at the other member of the household. Peter was such a nice young boy who'd already been through so much in his life. He lost his parents, and was constantly bullied even though he always tried to hide it. She knew how close he and Ben had been, especially after his parents' death. She was never the paternal type, and had struggled to bond with the boy the way his uncle did. Which is why, after that night's argument between the two she guilted Ben into going to search for him instead of calling him herself. And because of that, Peter had lost his last remaining relative and was left with her. Now, she was determined to never let him feel alone in this world and tried constantly to reach out to him. Unfortunately, she was yet to figure out how. She hoped that, with a more direct approach, he might be a bit more willing to open up to her.

Peter swallowed the lump in his throat and forced a smile on his face, although he failed to look he in the eye. "Thanks May. Really, I appreciate it. Goodnight."

He didn't need to look at her to know she was sporting a sad look on her face. He turned and walked up the stairs, his enhanced hearing allowing him to hear the small 'goodnight' whispered back.

* * *

 **A/N: So after the positive comments (and some hilarious PMs), I've decided to make this a full length story. Gonna expand on the premise I proposed, and hopefully make it a good enough character study ideological debate. I always thought that the ideological aspects of the Accords could have been better explored in Civil War, and possibly in Homecoming, and I want to expand on the benefits and drawbacks of each one while using Peter being the audience surrogate who navigates through each path. I'm gonna include other Marvel heroes like the Defenders, X-Men and the F4 to see how other groups are affected by the Accords.**

 **Another thing I wished was expanded on more was the perils of a double life for a high school superhero. I'm gonna try to write a proper character piece for Peter and all the problems he'll experience in high school (crushes, friends, tests, popularity etc) and the emotional and financial effects of Ben's death on May and Peter. I'm gonna focus alot on their relationship, but I'm putting a slightly different spin on it inspired by the younger version in the MCU, which hopefully you guys will enjoy. As usual, let me know if you guys like this, dislike it or want to see anything going forward.**


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